Fourth of July Buttermilk Pie

Fourth of July, Buttermilk Pie. Has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it? If you’re familiar with buttermilk pie, then this is old hat for you. If not, you might be scratching your head right now wondering, eh? Buttermilk? in a pie?

Let me assure you, if you’re in the unfamiliar camp, that buttermilk makes a lovely pie. A custard pie actually, and it’s quite sweet. You eat buttermilk pancakes, don’t you? Buttermilk biscuits? Buttermilk tastes great in lots of things. Last year Garrett made a buttermilk pudding that was outstanding.

With this recipe, the buttermilk pie is a sweet custard pie, topped with plain whipped cream to hold the berries in place for our patriotic pie rendition. The natural tartness in the berries balances the sweet custard of the pie.

Method

1 Preheat oven to 325°F. In a mixing bowl, beat the eggs, then beat in the sugar and lemon zest until well combined. Beat in the flour and melted butter. Beat in the vanilla and buttermilk.

2 Pour filling batter into an uncooked pie shell (frozen is fine). Bake at 325°F for approximately 50 minutes, or until the center of the custard has just set (can still be a little wiggly). Remove from oven and let cool. The custard may puff up a bit in the oven; it will deflate as it cools.

3 Whip the chilled cream until it holds stiff peaks. Once the pie has cooled to room temperature, spread the whipping cream over the top of the pie. Arrange the raspberries and blueberries in a decorative pattern on top of the whipping cream.